Vehicles, particularly those including rear cargo areas, are often provided with vertically articulable closure panels for the cargo areas, for ease of access thereto. An example would be a rear liftgate for a sport-utility vehicle, van, or mini-van.
Such closure panels articulate vertically, i.e. are hingedly attached to the vehicle and swing upwardly when opened. A disadvantage to this configuration is that, when the panel is at a fully opened position, the handle used to close the panel is at a highest position and may be difficult to reach by persons of shorter stature.
To address these and other problems, the present disclosure describes an adjustable-length handle assembly for a vertically articulating closure panel which allows lengthening or shortening the handle length as desired to accommodate a user's stature.